Daily news sites

Party people in the house! We had a birthday celebration this weekend to celebrate Eve's very first birthday. We've been getting a little stir crazy from the long winter, so we were in the mood for a party. And who wouldn't want to party with this girl?!

First up, alert the public. I went the lazy green route and used digital invites from Paperless Post. This is one great site. We're talking well designed stuff people, not some crappy evite. Their selection is awesome and they manage your responses to boot. Two thumbs up to Paperless Post.

Now let's raise the roof and get crafty. It was time to pull out all of those things I've pinned and thought "I'll try that someday."  First up, a DIY Yarn Wreath I saw on Effortless Style.

 Instead of several small flowers, I went with one big Carrie Bradshaw flower. Very season 3.

You may remember my Dollar Store obsession paying off with my Peppermint Wreath. Well that place rocked it again by supplying me with lots and lots of gum balls.

I'm not much of a 'theme' person, but I did find myself using polka-dot (surprise surprise) type things over and over again. So for those party people in need of a theme - let's go with polka dots. Colorful gum balls = polka dots.

I found the wooden letters for $.99 and the wooden circle thingys (what would you call those) in the dollar bin at Michael's. They were originally naked wood, so I dressed them in white and attached them with some pink grosgrain ribbon and my trusty glue gun.

The design fairy was on my side as Eve works perfectly with the rule of threes.

The ice cream cone bubbles from Target worked perfectly for favors, trimmed with polka dot ribbon. Hey, those hydrangeas could act as big huge polka-dots too. Oh this is getting fun. Kind of like Where's Waldo.


Martha Stewart provided me with a paper pom kit that was easy enough for a craft challenged person like myself to follow with no problem. Thank you Martha.

More polka-dot ribbon to keep with the non-theme theme.

Eve is a hard core meat lover (we are so proud) so I made meatball sandwiches (polka-dots get it?) along with fruit kabobs and tomato, basil and mozzarella sticks. OK, so maybe I am getting into this polka-dot theme.

There were vegetables on this spread, I promise. Mental note- make sure everything is on the table before taking pictures.

And of course, what is a birthday party without a cake.

Most importantly the birthday girl approved.

A good time was had by all but I have to say I'm glad its over.  I am pooped out! Thanks to everyone who joined in the celebration. My how quickly a year flies!

Sporty trend  is here!  Are you ready ? Start!!!!!!! Neoprene materials , high snickers, neon colors are just a few athletic inspired pieces that we will see everywhere this Spring ! How about mixing gym pants with floral tops or your favorite sweatshirt combined with leather mini skirt ? This is sporty-chic! I'm in ! Are you ?



                                                             Hat: Costo / here
                                                             Parka: Asos / here
                                                             Watch: Nixon /here
                                                             Snickers: Marc by Marc Jacobs / here

(NEWSER) – It's not every day that you walk into a bank planning to cash a $100 check—and ultimately find yourself $3.3 million richer. That's what happened to Rodolfo Valladares, just not quite that smoothly. Valladares, sporting a Miami Heat hat, walked into a Florida Bank of America in July 2008 to cash said check. A teller mistakenly identified him as a robber who had been hitting area banks—in a Heat cap. She set off the silent alarm, and things went south for Valladares, who was handcuffed by police and kicked in the head, reports the Miami Herald.

This mistake quickly came to light: The robber was in his 60s and 145 pounds; Valladares was 46, weighed in at more than 200, and presented the check and driver's license, not a weapon. And he wasn't wearing the exact same hat. Now, he's getting a little something for his trouble, courtesy of a Miami-Dade jury. They awarded him $3.3 million in damages, having ruled that the bank was negligent in both tripping the alarm and not canceling it when they realized Valladares was a customer, not a criminal. His lawyer says Valladares is plagued by headaches, blurred vision, and PTSD—and notes that "to add insult to injury, they cashed his check after finally telling police officers it was a false alarm." (In other big-bucks news, a man bought a safe for $123 on eBay, and found major cash inside; click for that story.)

(NEWSER) – When James Labrecque listed an old safe—to which he did not have the combination—on eBay, the seller warned, "What you see is what you get, no returns, and no money back." A Tennessee man purchased it for $122.93, had a welder cut it open—and found $26,000 inside. The buyer shared the news with Labrecque via a positive review on the auction site, and Labrecque quickly attempted to convince the buyer to give him some of the cash, to no avail. In fact, WMC-TV reports, the buyer quoted Labrecque's own eBay disclaimer right back to him when turning him down.

"I made a mistake, you know, that's what it boils down to. And it cost me dearly," says Labrecque, who adds that he shook the safe and didn't think there was anything inside. "I feel like the stupidest idiot in the world. … I gave away a safe with $26,000 in it." He also insists that if he were in the buyer's place, he would have offered to split the cash 50/50 with the seller. "That's a chunk of change, you know. That's life-altering money." (In more big-money news, click to read about a man who tried to cash a $100 check ... and ended up with $3.3 million.)

A drop of color in black-white-grey outfit ! As I told you a while ago, I received this splendid necklace from Poshlocket  together with these wonderful bracelets, you may see them here . This necklace is a great pice to wear all year long with b&w or colorful outfits. This is the first of many ...



                                                       Coat : Forever 21/ similar style here and here 
                                                       Shirt: Liz Claiborne /  a great version here
                                                       Pants: H&M/ another great pair  here and here
                                                       Bag: Diesel / similar here and here
                                                       Boots: Lucky Brand / a great version here  
                                                       Ring : Glitterrings 
                                                       Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren 
                                                       Necklace: poshlocket.com 

Wearing  pastel colors  is like eating ice cream every day :). It is still the winter season and I can't have it all, so I wear pastel colors as much as I like, but I can't say the same thing about eating ice cream ( or at least not yet :)



                                                         Coat : vintage / a great version  here and here
                                                         Sweater: Express
                                                         Jeans: Mango /similar here
                                                         Ankle boots: Zara/ similar style here and here
                                                         Bag: Margot / similar style here
                                                         Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren
                                                         Ring: Glitterrings
                                                         Bangle bracelets: J.Crew / Forever 21/ also a great find here and here
                                                         Cuff bracelet: no name brand
                                                         Belt : no name brand

Hey there! First things first, I want to thank everyone for their great comments, especially about the lampshades. I think they just might deserve different bases so I'm going to keep my eyes open. I'll keep you posted.

With a 1st birthday party this weekend, our house is full of glue guns and pink. Everywhere pink. So, many things have fallen off my radar, but I did manage to finish one project on my list. A kick off project of sorts. But first a little background. I know what you're thinking, 'Oh great, another one of her stories.' I'll keep it brief, promise.

We have the classic neglected master bedroom - full of left overs, after thoughts and general laziness. Finally the other day I decided I'd had enough. I'm sick and tired of it and I'm not gonna take it anymore! (imagine me doing my best Norma Ray) Its time to start the patching, painting, moving, reorganizing, and of course, shopping. But as this room is (supposed to be) my sanctuary, the thought of the upheaval makes me want to avoid it altogether.

So I'm going with the 'What About Bob?' theory. Its all about the baby steps.

Baby step 1 - empty the room. As we've established, it drives me bonkers to live in an 'empty' space, so nothing is more encouraging than seeing blank walls first thing every day. Mission accomplished. It is driving me nuts and I am annoyed encouraged.

Baby step 2 - bring in some inspiration. I been dying for some kelly green...somewhere. Enter this mirror I picked up off the side of the road when I nabbed my now yellow table.

It used to sit on top of the table, ala vanity, which is why there is that big honkin' bolt sticking out of the bottom. Luckily that screwed right out. A bit of sanding and paper to protect the mirror and it was ready for a can of love.


After several light and even coats (a shout out to Sherry) I have a nice pop of inspiration.




 Notice the blank walls. And curtains already pulled down. And no, I'm not channeling Laura Ashley's green and lavender. That wall color is the next thing to go!

Next up baby step 3 - paint the walls.

Then create curtains, get new bedding, recycle some lamps, get stuff for the walls, figure out a bedskirt, find a rug...oy. I'll stop there. I need a cocktail.

For now this bit of change will have to do. Its all about the baby steps.

Have you started any major projects lately? Have any project anxiety? Something you've wanted to get started but can't bring yourself to pull the trigger on?

Brad Meltzer's Decoded, (or simply Decoded), is an American mystery and conspiracy theory investigation television series, produced by Go Go Luckey and Berman/Braun, that premiered December 2, 2010 on the History channel.^[1] The series is hosted bypolitical thriller author and non-fiction writer Brad Meltzer and follows a team of investigators who try to determine the meanings behind various symbolism, alleged secret codes and conspiracies that surround us everyday.

Brad's team interview members of the military and aviation organizations who have come forward to break their silence about their encounters with UFOs. From the famous Roswell UFO incident to Area 51, the team tries to piece together evidence of an alleged government coverup regarding the existence of extraterrestrial beings.

Aerogel is a synthetic porous material derived from a gel, in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with a gas. The result is a solid with extremely low density^[1] and thermal conductivity. It is nicknamed frozen smoke,^[2] solid smoke, solid air or blue smoke owing to itstranslucent nature and the way light scatters in the material; however, it feels like expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) to the touch.

Aerogel was first created by Samuel Stephens Kistler in 1931, as a result of a bet with Charles Learned over who could replace the liquid in "jellies" with gas without causing shrinkage.^[3][4]

Aerogels are produced by extracting the liquid component of a gel through supercritical drying. This allows the liquid to be slowly drawn off without causing the solid matrix in the gel to collapse from capillary action, as would happen with conventional evaporation. The first aerogels were produced from silica gels. Kistler's later work involved aerogels based on alumina, chromia andtin oxide. Carbon aerogels were first developed in the late 1980s.^[5]

Pope John Paul II performed an exorcism on a "drooling, trembling" woman in the Vatican but was unable to cure her of her demons, according to the Catholic Church's most famous exorcist.

However you choose to celebrate, or not celebrate, I hope you enjoy a little something sweet today!

Via Pinterest